{"id":14596,"date":"2025-09-11T15:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/14596\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:12:07","slug":"rte-announces-ireland-wont-participate-in-eurovision-if-israel-allowed-to-take-part-gcn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/14596\/","title":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 announces Ireland won’t participate in Eurovision if Israel allowed to take part \u2022 GCN"},"content":{"rendered":"

RT\u00c9 has announced that Ireland will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete, citing grave humanitarian concerns over the ongoing situation in Gaza. In a statement<\/a> released today, September 11, 2025, the broadcaster said its continued involvement in Eurovision would be \u201cunconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The statement also expressed deep concern over the targeted killing of journalists, the denial of access to international media, and the unresolved plight of hostages.<\/p>\n

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)<\/a>, which organises the Eurovision Song Contest, has yet to make a final decision on Israel\u2019s inclusion in the 2026 edition. RT\u00c9 stated that its own decision would ultimately depend on the EBU\u2019s position, but made it clear that Ireland\u2019s participation is unlikely should Israel be permitted to take part.<\/p>\n

Kevin Bakhurst, Director General of RT\u00c9, said: \u201cRT\u00c9 feels that Ireland\u2019s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. We are also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists, the denial of international media access, and the continuing plight of hostages in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 contest is set to be the 70th anniversary edition and will be held in Vienna, Austria, following Austria\u2019s victory in Basel earlier this year. JJ won the 2025 contest for Austria with his song \u2018Wasted Love\u2019. Ireland was represented in Basel by Emmy with her song \u2018Laika Party\u2019.<\/p>\n

Controversy surrounding Israel\u2019s participation in Eurovision has intensified over recent years. Protests erupted during the 2024 contest in Malm\u00f6, Sweden, and again in Basel in 2025. The issue has sparked calls for a cultural boycott, with more than 70 former Eurovision contestants signing an open letter earlier this year urging the EBU to ban Israel from the competition.<\/p>\n

RT\u00c9 is not alone in its concerns. Broadcasters from Spain and Slovenia have also sought dialogue with the EBU regarding Israel\u2019s participation. At the EBU\u2019s General Assembly in July, several member organisations reportedly raised objections to Israel\u2019s continued inclusion.<\/p>\n

Ireland has a long and celebrated history in Eurovision, having participated since 1965 and won a record seven times, most recently in 1996. However, RT\u00c9\u2019s current stance on Ireland\u2019s participation in the 2026 Eurovision contest signals a significant moment in Irish solidarity with Palestine and condemnation of Israel\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Over 64,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal military assault on Gaza in October 2023. Moreover, people in Gaza are currently facing the\u00a0\u201cworst-case scenario of famine\u201d<\/a>\u00a0due to an aid blockade imposed by Israel. The blockade is causing what the World Health Organization (WHO) described as a\u00a0\u201cman-made\u201d mass starvation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2025 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Support GCN<\/p>\n

GCN is a free, vital resource for Ireland\u2019s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.<\/p>\n

GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity – Charity Number: 20034580<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n GCN relies on the generous support of the community and allies to sustain the crucial work that we do. Producing GCN is costly, and, in an industry which has been hugely impacted by rising costs, we need your support to help sustain and grow this vital resource.<\/p>\n

\n Supporting GCN for as little as \u20ac1.99 per month<\/a> will help us continue our work as Ireland\u2019s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 has announced that Ireland will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13973,13974,97,61,60,3410,43,4268,6085],"class_list":["post-14596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-eurovision-2026","tag-eurovison","tag-gaza","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-palestine","tag-rte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}